AC Running Tips
Running an AC unit in your home is the best way to fight off the powerful San Antonio heat, and you may find that an AC unit is exactly what you need to keep your home cool. However, as your AC repair San Antonio professional will tell you, running an AC is not the cheapest thing you can do. You will find that the AC will suck a good deal of energy to stay running all day long, and you may end up spending a fortune on electric bills if you don’t know some good tips for cutting costs and helping your AC unit to run more effectively.
One of the best ways to cut costs is to set your thermostat a few degrees higher than the temperature that you find most pleasant. While it may be a bit hotter to raise the temperature, it will save a good deal of money. Your HVAC costs go up 8% per month for each degree setting below 78 degrees. You can also purchase a special thermostat that you can program. Programmable thermostats enable you to set the desired temperatures for each time of the day, which will help you to be able to cool down your home easily in the heat of the day will setting the AC unit to run on lower settings in the evening.
It is always best to perform regular maintenance on your AC unit, particularly the air filters. The air filters catch all the dust, hair, and debris floating around in the air, and it prevents them from getting into the AC unit. However, if the filter is too clogged, it will not be able to circulate the air properly, and thus your AC unit will not work well. If you want to keep your AC unit functioning properly, you would do well to keep your air filter clean. Also, check the outdoor and indoor coils to be certain that they are clean as well. The coils tend to collect dust like your kids collect injuries, and you would do well to clean the coils at least once a year if not more often.
You can hire an AC repair professional to come to your home and give your AC a tune-up. As with your car and any machine, getting a tune-up for your AC unit will ensure that it runs well for the rest of the year. You will find that an annual tune-up will be a good investment of you money and will help your AC unit run much better. Also, if your home has a crawl space, you would do well to open your foundation vents at least once or twice during the spring to ensure that it is ventilated and clean.
One of the best ways to keep your AC unit from having to work too hard is to make your home shadier, but you may find that the trees that provide shade will actually contribute to damaging your AC unit. When the leaves fall from the tree, they may clog up the vent. Grass and shrubs can also prevent the air from flowing properly, so it is always best to get rid of anything that could block the vents.
In order to ensure that your AC unit runs well, it is always best to provide them with shade. If the sun is beating down on the unit, it will be so focused on cooling the air running through the unit that it will not cool the air in your home as effectively. The best thing to do is to place the AC unit in a part of the house that is shady, or you can even construct a simple roof platform over the AC unit to keep it out of the hot sun. You will find that the simple change will make a big difference in keeping your home from getting too hot.
If you want to cut costs effectively, you may find that fans are the best way to do so. While having fans running in your home may raise your energy costs, you can actually lower the temperature setting on your AC unit and thus save a good deal of money. Everyone has heard of the wind chill factor, and you know that having cool air circulating through your home is much more effective than having cold air just sitting. You can use ceiling fans in order to save money, though box fans and stationary fans will be much more effective at keeping you cool.
